Biden shields Ukrainians in US from deportation with temporary protection during war

The Biden administration will temporarily shield tens of thousands of Ukrainians in the United States from deportation and grant them work permits for as long as they are unable to return to Ukraine because of the ongoing war with Russia, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.

According to the agency, any Ukrainian resident in the U.S. who has been here since March 1 or earlier is eligible for Temporary Protected Status for a period of 18 months. Ukrainians who arrived in the country after March 1 are ineligible for this designation, DHS said in a release.

The federal government's action comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by land, air, and sea in what has become one of the largest wars in Europe since World War II. President Joe Biden strongly condemned Russia in his State of the Union address earlier this week, calling the attack "premeditated and unprovoked."

The president detailed economic sanctions the U.S. and European allies have placed on Russia in his address, and promised additional aid to the Ukrainian people during this conflict. He also announced that Russian flights would be cut off from American air space to "squeeze" the Russian economy as punishment for Putin's war.

Biden's administration has determined that the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine and "extraordinary and temporary conditions" will prevent Ukrainian nationals in the U.S. from returning home safely. The TPS designation for Ukrainians in America will grant them access to work permits and enable them to remain in the U.S. after their visas expire, for as long as the status lasts.

"Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, and Ukrainians forced to seek refuge in other countries," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a written statement.

Earlier Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it had paused deportation flights to Ukraine due to the "ongoing humanitarian crisis," Reuters reported.

Since the war began, more than 1 million Ukrainians have fled their country seeking refuge in European nations to the west. Half a million of these refugees are children, according to UNICEF, which said this could be the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, CNN reported.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Thursday, "I have worked in refugee emergencies for almost 40 years, and rarely have I seen an exodus as rapid as this one."

"International solidarity has been heartwarming. But nothing -- nothing -- can replace the need for the guns to be silenced; for dialogue and diplomacy to succeed. Peace is the only way to halt this tragedy," Grandi added.